Planning Community-Based Schools

Marty Blank of the Coalition for Community Schools helps neighborhoods across the country realize the dream of smaller, better, community-focused schools.

1 minute read

December 1, 2005, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


Though the challenge of providing quality public education may find different solutions in different cities, the Coalition for Community Schools maintains that small, neighborhood-centered schools should be a priority for every city. In the following interview, Coalition Staff Director Marty Blank explains the benefits of community schools and discusses the progress being made in implementing them throughout the country.

From the interview:

"We’re finishing a paper about community leadership and looking at 11 different communities, and we are beginning to see efforts moving toward scale. In Chicago, there are now 102 community schools, and that includes some regular public schools as well as charter schools. In Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, there are 50 community schools out of 150 schools in the entire county, and there is great demand for more. Cincinnati has a school construction program akin to what is going on in L.A. â€" frankly, Cincinnati has some of the worst facilities in the country â€" and they have a vision of turning every school into a "comprehensive community-learning center," their name for a community school."

Thanks to David Abel

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

2 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

4 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

6 hours ago - InTransition Magazine